Written by an expert on both languages spoken by Rumi, Turkish and Persian, this is an authoritative but accessible introduction to this important 13th-century historian and mystic poet. Concentrating on the social and cultural environment in which Rumi lived and produced his influential works, the book describes the war-torn lives of the people in Asia Minor at the time and makes the point that few figures in history have made an appeal for peace so enlightened that it traveled down the centuries.